Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Jeff Ireland is no river boat gambler, he wants our left tackle position resolved as soon as possible. If he waits for the 12th pick, there probably won't be a definite starter available.

The Kansas City Chiefs don't want Branden Albert on their roster going into tomorrow night. They would rather not use the first overall pick on a starting tackle and then have one too many.

Sounds like an easy deal, but the compensation and competition are getting in the way.

KC wants our second round pick, # 42. Ireland is only willing to part with our second round pick, # 54. But the posturing by KC makes me believe they have other suitors for Albert. San Diego could use a left tackle as well. Is San Diego willing to part with their second round pick, # 45? Or is KC just bluffing?

Is Ireland willing to wait and see if anyone by miracle falls to # 12? He may, but he knows very well that two tackles would have to fall since San Diego sits at # 11. So that won't work. And if no tackle falls to San Diego at 11, will they be willing to ante up and trade their second round pick for Albert?

I believe Ireland will have to sweeten the deal with KC in order to hang onto pick # 42.
Here is how I think he will have to lay out his cards with KC.

Using the NFL Draft Chart, the Chargers pick at # 45 is worth 450 points. Our # 54 is worth 360 points. We would be 90 points shy of the Charger's offer.

So Ireland will offer KC our # 54 pick and then swap our third round pick # 82, worth 180 points for their fourth round pick # 99, worth 104 points. That gives KC 76 points of value with that one swap towards the 90 point difference with the Charger's offer.

Now we are not done yet, we still need to give KC 14 points worth of picks. So we swap our fifth round pick # 146, worth 33 points, for their sixth round pick # 170, worth 23.4 points. This shaves off another 9.6 points and now we are only 4.4 points away from the same value as the Chargers offer.

Here is the final kicker from Ireland, we give the KC our seventh round pick # 217, worth 4.6 points and tell them to keep the change.

So the left tackle position is set for this year and we can still have 4 of top 100 picks in the draft to find another corner, pass rusher and tight end. Plus, we can still possibly trade down in the first round and get another pick or two as well.

That's why guys get cut or restructured. Cap room. KC can give permission to Albert's agent in 10 minutes or less. As soon as pick 11 arrives and San Diego has no tackle available, the phones can ring. They will have 24 hours to discuss a contract before the second round arrives.

Even with a restructure, SD cannot afford Albert. Miami is the only team with the need and cap space to do the deal. However, KC wants him off their roster and therefore, with only 1 suitor, it is a buyer's market. You don't take our 3rd round pick, Martin slides over and we sign Winston or draft a RT. I would not give up #54

Even with a restructure, SD cannot afford Albert. Miami is the only team with the need and cap space to do the deal. However, KC wants him off their roster and therefore, with only 1 suitor, it is a buyer's market. You don't take our 3rd round pick, Martin slides over and we sign Winston or draft a RT. I would not give up #54

Even with a restructure, SD cannot afford Albert. Miami is the only team with the need and cap space to do the deal. However, KC wants him off their roster and therefore, with only 1 suitor, it is a buyer's market. You don't take our 3rd round pick, Martin slides over and we sign Winston or draft a RT. I would not give up #54

Even with a restructure, SD cannot afford Albert. Miami is the only team with the need and cap space to do the deal. However, KC wants him off their roster and therefore, with only 1 suitor, it is a buyer's market. You don't take our 3rd round pick, Martin slides over and we sign Winston or draft a RT. I would not give up #54

I am not sure about Martin being able to handle the left side. He looked pretty silly there last year.SD can restructure a bunch of guy's contracts if they have to.I don't like to trade any draft picks but sometimes you have to bite the bullet.They better sign him for 4 years.

I know what you are saying Seth. It is such a crap shoot with the draft. Maybe more this year than in other years. There are plenty of good players but you better be real good to help your team get over the hump.